Whittemore, IA
Whittemore wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Whittemore lands at the 10th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a figure built from its 353 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Whittemore at the 9th percentile, close to its 10th-percentile risk score.
Where Whittemore's buildings actually sit
USFS classifies 89.8% of Whittemore's buildings as Minimal exposure, the largest of the three zones here by a wide margin over 10.2% Direct and 0% Indirect — a landscape-level risk rather than a building-by-building one.
Where Whittemore ranks
Whittemore's risk sits at a similar level relative to Iowa (19th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (10th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Whittemore ranks 28,455 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 20,230 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 822 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Whittemore
Whittemore's low wildfire rating (10th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With 89.8% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Whittemore gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
Where Whittemore's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 353 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Whittemore. The exposure-zones guide covers what Whittemore's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.